Search begins for story behind Multy Stations of the Cross

Eilís Ryan

Among the most striking pieces of public art in Westmeath are the life-sized stations of the Cross figures located in the serene grounds of the Franciscan Friary at Multyfarnham, but what is surprising is how little is known about the history of the statues.

That gap in local knowledge is something that members of the Ballinafid Multyfarnham Bunbrosna Active Retirement Association (BMBARA) are hoping to fix, through a research project they have just launched.

“We have an enthusiastic working group researching the Mullingar Library archives, national and local papers and other references,” says Eilish Orme of BMBARA, revealing that the statues are believed to have been put in place between 1938 and 1942.

“Locally it’s believed that the statues were modelled on people who lived in the locality at the time.”

She continues, however, there’s so much more that the group wants to know: “The Neff Brothers of Cork City designed and produced the statues. We are interested to know how the statues were transported to Multyfarnham and about the construction of the Stations.”

The transport question is an interesting one: “Up to the mid-70s, the trains stopped at Rathganny, Multyfarnham, so we’d like to know were they brought here by train or by lorry,” says Eilish, adding that the understanding of the researchers is that the engineer for the project was a Denis Nolan; the stonemason was Nicholas Killian and the landscaper was a Mr Hutchinson.

The hope is that anyone who may have data, references, photos of the construction of the Stations, memorabilia or even recollections, will contact them, so they can put a fuller picture together of the history of the artworks.

Altogether, about 10 members of BMBARA are involved in the project, and they have applied to the Heritage Council in the hopes of receiving funding that would enable them to engage the services of an oral historian to pull the project together.

Although there are only four months between now and August, the team are hoping that they will have a fuller picture of the history of the stations ready for this year’s Heritage Week.

“During Heritage Week, we’re hoping we will do a display of our findings and PowerPoint presentations and so on, and we may print it, but we will also have it available online,” says Eilish.

The statues are a great source of delight and pride in the locality. “The Franciscan Friary and the Stations are a huge tourism attraction in north Westmeath,” says Eilish.

“They have featured on many televised programmes eg Good Friday ceremonies, Christmas Midnight Mass and musical recitals. Many musicians have recorded and performed at the Friary. And of course the Friary is very popular for weddings.”

Anybody with any information, can contact Eilish and the research team at ActiveRetirementBMB@gmail.com.